


Greatest Problem-Solver of All

by mywashingtonromance



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Iwaizumi Hajime Is So Done, M/M, Not Beta Read, Oikawa Tooru & Sugawara Koushi Friendship, Oikawa Tooru Being an Idiot, Oikawa Tooru is a Little Shit, Oikawa Tooru is an obnoxious preppy boy, Oikawa Tooru's Knee Injury, Pining, Sad Oikawa Tooru, just a sprain, suga is a simp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mywashingtonromance/pseuds/mywashingtonromance
Summary: When Daichi and Michimiya finally stop beating around the bush and start dating the night Karasuno qualifies for nationals, Suga can't help but be jealous. After a few chance encounters, some convincing, and some frustration, Suga and Oikawa hatch a plan for Suga to win Daichi over. A bad, possibly even terrible, plan.aka a fake dating story where no one knows what the hell they wantmostly follows canon
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Michimiya Yui/Sawamura Daichi, Oikawa Tooru & Sugawara Koushi, Oikawa Tooru/Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 18
Kudos: 80





	1. 1

It’s past midnight, the night they beat Shiratorizawa. Suga is exhausted, and probably should’ve gone to sleep hours ago. Despite this, his mind is still racing and he knows if he tries to sleep before his brain shuts up it’s going to be fruitless, so he’s sitting up in bed, half-watching silly Youtube videos. He’s so tired out of it that he nearly jumps out of bed when his phone buzzes and lights up. He considers ignoring it; it’s late and he’s sure it’s not an emergency, but he finds himself looking anyway. He livens up a bit when he sees it’s a message from Daichi. 

**KARASUNO VBC 3RD YEARS** ⭐

**Sawamura Daichi**

Guys you will never guess what crazy thing just happened

**Azumane Asahi**

?

**Sugawara Kōshi**

oh oh i know! we beat shiratorizawa!

**Shimizu Kiyoko**

^^^

**Sawamura Daichi**

Ha ha ha

**Sugawara Kōshi**

**😝**

**Sawamura Daichi**

I finally confessed to Michimiya 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

oh

**Azumane Asahi**

Seriously?? What happened!!!

**Shimizu Kiyoko**

^^^

**Sawamura Daichi**

Well I was just feeling so good after we won you know 

And I just felt the most confident I had ever felt so I met up with her and told her everything and it worked out really well! We’re going on an official date tomorrow

Or today, I guess… sorry for texting so late, you all should sleep!

**Azumane Asahi**

Daichi that’s awesome!!!! Have fun tomorrow

**Shimizu Kiyoko**

^^^ congrats! 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

!!!

Suga sets his phone down on his bedside table and screws his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. It’s not as if he didn’t see this coming. Daichi and Michimiya had been flirting with the idea of dating since  _ middle school _ , while Suga had been trying to get over his stupid crush on Daichi for two and a half years. He knew, deep down, that there was no other possible outcome. 

But, that doesn’t make it hurt any less. 

He slumps down and shuts his laptop, rubbing his eyes. He takes some more deep breaths and tries not to cry, he can’t  _ let _ himself cry. It will just make him feel worse, and it’s not like it’s going to accomplish anything. He takes a shuddering breath, and he thinks he’s got it under control, but as soon as he exhales he can feel the tears coming. He gives in, because there’s not much else he can do about it at this point. He cries until he’s too tired to do anything but just lie there and fall asleep. 

Suga wakes up late the next morning. He lies in bed for what could either be minutes or hours, and he’s really not in the mood to check either way. Eventually he gets up and pads out of his room, and he’s immediately terrified of the prospect of having to talk to his parents. He knows they’re happy for him, knew how much qualifying for nationals meant to him. But he also knows that he’s not going to be able to compose himself enough to look happy right now, to pretend like he didn’t go to sleep crying about his best friend getting a girlfriend. 

_ Man _ , Suga thinks,  _ I’m seriously pathetic _ . 

He heads straight for the front door, pulling on his shoes and walking outside. It’s unusually cold for late October, and Suga is woefully underdressed in a t-shirt and shorts. It’s windy and lightly raining, but Suga thinks it’s awfully appropriate weather for how down he’s feeling, so he starts walking down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. 

At first the walk is nice, maybe even refreshing, but the wind is biting and Suga can’t stop thinking about Daichi, about how stupid he is for holding on to this silly little crush he should’ve kicked years ago. 

Eventually he feels like the pace of his thoughts and the pace he’s walking at are too mismatched and it  _ overwhelms _ him, so he starts running and just doesn’t stop for… who knows how long. 

Once his hair is plastered in a million different directions against his forehead by a combination of rain and sweat, once his legs feel like they might burst, once his lungs feel like they might collapse, only then does he stop… and realize he has  _ no idea _ where he is. He could be in the next town over, or several, he’s not really sure, but he knows he’s definitely not still at home. Suga looks around frantically to see if any street signs might identify the town for him, but he still finds himself utterly lost. He shakes his head and defeatedly trudges along the sidewalk until he finds a convenience store. 

He heads in and breathes a sigh of relief at the immediate warmth of the store and goes over to the fridge holding drinks. He spends a moment examining his options, but there’s only so many choices, so he pulls out a sports drink and walks to the counter, setting the drink down. 

The cashier rings him up, and as he reaches into his pocket, Suga sighs and says, “Sorry, I guess I forgot my wallet. I’ll just put this back.” Just his luck. 

Before he can take the drink back, an arm shoots past him to set some bills down onto the counter. Suga is too shocked to even look, at first; the movement is so sudden, and he can feel the person is  _ close _ to him,  _ uncomfortably _ close,  _ brushing slightly up behind him _ close, and he quickly deduces this must be someone he knows because he doesn’t think even the boldest of strangers would do this in broad daylight.

He takes it in: the invasion of personal space, the distantly familiar sleeve of a royal blue wool jacket, the modest but present smell of a cologne Suga is certain costs a ridiculous amount, the long fingers that confidently slam bills down to pay for someone else, and, seriously, who in the  _ hell _ has Suga ever met that would—

“ _ Oikawa? _ ” Suga asks incredulously, spinning around, and finding himself looking up at the captain of Aoba Johsai, and they’re so close that they’re practically touching. 

“Mr. Refreshing!” Oikawa exclaims, smiling at him widely in a way that Suga  _ knows _ must be forced, calculated, but he can’t exactly figure out what Oikawa’s aim might be here. 

_ Mr. Refreshing? _ Suga knew Oikawa was prone to nicknames, demeaning ones: Shrimpy, Tobio-chan, Four Eyes, and he’d heard him say  _ those _ plenty of times during matches, but  _ Mr. Refreshing _ doesn’t exactly fit neatly into the category of an unpleasant nickname.  _ Focus,  _ Suga thinks, desperately trying to get himself away from this situation because he must admit: he’s a little nervous around Oikawa Tōru. “Um,” he starts, watching helplessly as Oikawa reaches around him again to take his change from the cashier, which he unceremoniously shoves into his pocket before reaching out again to take the sports drink and hand it to Suga with what can only be described as an award winning smile. Suga takes the drink, a deep breath, and says, “Thank you. I owe you one, I guess. What are you doing here?” 

Suga wishes he could have been cheeky, or sounded more rival-like at least, since most of the time he’d ever spent around Oikawa had been when they were attempting to ferret out the weaknesses of each other’s teams and, if he’s honest with himself, Suga thinks Oikawa is probably fun to banter with. But he’s too shaken up by this whole situation: the panic run, the stumbling into a random convenience store, the sudden appearance of Oikawa. Plus, their match had only been a couple of days ago and Suga thinks it’s probably best to be wary of Oikawa’s seemingly fragile mentality. After all, Hinata had genuinely believed Oikawa would bury him six feet deep before their last match. 

Oikawa hums for a moment, one eyebrow raised, before telling him, “I only live in the next town over. I’m just heading home. The real question, Mr. Refreshing, is what are you doing here, so far from home?” 

Suga will admit, he’s a bit distracted looking at Oikawa to immediately comprehend the question. He can’t  _ help _ it; the guy is undeniably, unfairly attractive. At first he’s caught up in looking at the coat: it’s a very nice shade of blue, and Suga remembers briefly seeing Oikawa wearing it in the stands of their match against Shiratorizawa. He’s wearing it over a gray cable knit sweater and neatly tailored pants that are just the perfect shade of sky blue, and Suga briefly thinks that this guy must spend hours coordinating outfits. He’s looking back up at Oikawa (and his  _ stupid glasses, why do they look so good, _ and his  _ stupidly perfect hair _ ) when he actually realizes the question he’s just been asked. 

Far from home? Where in the  _ hell _ is he? He’s  _ that _ close to Aoba Johsai? He’s gone and pulled a real Hinata move, running brashly into enemy territory and then right into the enemy. Though, he supposes, Oikawa isn’t really his enemy, anymore. 

He’s not sure how long he waited to answer the question; it was probably only seconds, but Oikawa is observant, and Suga can just tell he caught him staring, because Oikawa has shifted from smiling to giving him an almost  _ predatory _ smug look. 

“Oh, well. I was just on a run,” Suga says, eyeing the door. Maybe he should just bolt. 

“In this weather? In those clothes?” Oikawa asks, reaching out to tug on one of the sleeves of Suga’s shirt, laughing softly. “That’s gotta be dangerous, or something. It’s practically freezing! And that’s such a far run!” 

Oikawa is teasing him, but he’s also being… Sincere? Nice? Whatever it is, it’s very off putting, coming from Oikawa. Suga decides he needs to make his escape by any means necessary. 

“You’re right, but I’m heading home now, if you’ll excuse me. Thanks again, Oikawa,” Suga says, walking past the taller setter towards the door. 

But nothing can be that easy, can it? 

Oikawa turns on his heel and follows Suga out, matching pace with him as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Come on, seriously? It’s snowing! You’re sweaty! You’re gonna get hypothermia!” His voice is dramatically rising in both volume and pitch, and Suga is just  _ so _ confused as to why it even matters to him. “Let me drive you home.” 

Suga stops, in his tracks, and Oikawa turns to face him, perplexed. He has to ask.“Why are you being so nice?” 

Oikawa hums again, pausing before he answers. “Obviously because I am the kindest man in all of Japan? How dare you imply I’m ever anything but perfectly delightful!” 

Suga gives him an unconvinced look. 

“If you catch a cold now, you might not recover before nationals, and then Tobio-chan would get even more court time!” 

Suga remains unconvinced. 

“Maybe I’m just feeling generous! Come  _ on _ , don’t you want to be driven home by the dashing young man who just came to your rescue, Mr. Refreshing?” Oikawa whines, crossing his arms petulantly. 

Suga actually sort of laughs at that, and maybe he puts his guard down just a little bit, because that nickname is truly stupid, and because it’s the first he’s laughed since Daichi texted, and Oikawa doesn’t seem like he’s in the mood to crash his car with Suga in it. He feels like he might even be regaining his composure. Plus, it is awfully cold. Oikawa was exaggerating about the snow, but not by much; Suga thinks the rain is probably in the freezing category. “Fine, fine!” Suga says, throwing his hands up in mock defeat. “Escort me to your chariot then, Great King.” 

Oikawa smirks, and then turns and starts to skip off to a car parked in front of the store, gesturing for Suga to follow. Oikawa holds open the passenger seat door for him, and then skips over to get into the drivers side, and Suga distantly wonders how someone can oscillate so quickly between being, admittedly, sort of charming and extraordinarily childish. Must be some kind of special skill. 

“Are you going to try to kill me?” Suga asks, playfully, as Oikawa starts the car, which causes music to immediately start blasting. 

“No, no, of course not! You’re far too pretty to kill,” Oikawa says, fumbling with a knob and turning down the music, which Suga identifies as being in English and sounding suspiciously like One Direction. 

“That’s not really a great defense.” 

Oikawa scowls childishly and pulls the car onto the road with a lurch, and Suga is pretty sure he is somehow immediately speeding. Suga gives him some general directions and then settles in for what he thinks will probably be a mildly dangerous and probably awkward car ride. 

Now that he’s with him, up close, Suga starts to put together pieces of information about Oikawa that he’d always distantly thought about. The flirtatious nature, the way Suga had never actually seen him look fond of the fangirls, the descriptors he’d heard newscasters and passerbys and even Oikawa’s teammates use ( _ flamboyant, gaudy _ ), the way he held himself, and so many more little things. Suga knew these things didn’t necessarily mean anything, individually or together. He knew his intuition, his radar, wasn’t  _ always _ right, but he was pretty damn sure about this one, and Oikawa is pretty blunt, pretty confident, pretty bold, so Suga thinks he might be good to ask, depending on his approach. That’s fine; Suga knows how to be tactful. 

“You’re pretty gay, aren’t you?” 

Oh. 

Shit. He hadn’t meant to say it like  _ that _ . Suga steals a glance at Oikawa, expecting that he might  _ actually _ veer them off a cliff at this point, but he’s relieved to see the other setter laughing. 

“It took you long enough,” Oikawa complains, looking over at Suga (instead of the road, Suga thinks grimly) and scowling mockingly. 

“Well, it was just a hunch before.”

“A hunch? I gave you the look!” Oikawa exclaims. “At our first practice match!”

“The  _ look _ ?”

“Yeah, you know! The ‘we definitely both like dudes’ look. I caught you staring, too, so I thought you’d definitely come talk to me.” 

Is he  _ serious _ ? What could that even  _ mean _ ? “Does that… usually work for you?” 

“Yes,” Oikawa says, seriously, huffing and looking back to the road. “Of course it works! I’m  _ incredibly _ obvious about it and  _ incredibly _ attractive! No one ever ignores me!”

His words are obnoxious, arrogant, but Suga thinks he can detect a hint of something that makes him think Oikawa is mostly playing around, so he allows himself to laugh a little. Suga can feel the tension breaking a bit, but he’s still not entirely sure what the hell he’s supposed to talk about with Oikawa, so he cracks open the top of his sports drink and takes a sip as he stares out the window. 

Oikawa is a  _ terrible _ driver, so much so that for the next few minutes of silence Suga thinks the other boy is focused on driving as recklessly as possible. 

“So,” Oikawa says, casually, making a ridiculously wide turn. “What’s wrong with you?” 

Suga looks over at Oikawa and raises his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” 

Oikawa hums along with the pop song playing for a few seconds, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. “Well, you ran in the cold rain through  _ multiple  _ towns, forgot your wallet, which is weird, ‘cause you seem like the thorough type, and you had this cute lost puppy dog face,” Oikawa pauses and makes a ‘lost puppy dog face’ for effect. “And you look all…” he scrunches his face up, like he’s trying to think of the right word. “All sad and angsty. Shouldn’t you be looking all smiley and champion-like?” 

Suga guesses he shouldn’t be surprised that Oikawa noticed; he’s observant as hell and it’s not as if Suga is doing an excellent job hiding how he’s feeling in the first place. “Uh… It’s nothing.” 

“You’re a terrible liar, Mr. Refreshing,” Oikawa purrs. Suga wonders again how Oikawa can so  _ quickly _ change his expressions, his tone, the way he presents himself to push people in the direction he wants them to go in. Scary. 

Suga just blinks at him, mouth suddenly very dry. He avoids responding by uncapping his drink again and taking a swig. 

“Look, I know what you’re thinking,” Oikawa says, seriously. “You’re thinking, ‘Why would I unload all of my problems onto my beautiful rival, Tōru, who I barely even know? This situation is weird enough already!’” 

Suga lets himself smile, because Oikawa is a little silly, and because it’s not like many people make the effort to notice when Suga is off-kilter, and because the other setter practically echoed his thoughts. 

“But, telling your feelings to people you don’t know is much easier!” Oikawa exclaims, beaming. “Sometimes I just text all of my problems to a random number. So much simpler!”

Suga stares at him, because he really has no clue how to respond to that. 

“Look, I’m not saying you  _ have _ to tell me, or anything. But, clearly you need to tell  _ someone _ —” 

Suga takes a deep breath and cuts him off, because Oikawa is  _ right _ . He does need to tell someone, and somehow he feels like telling Oikawa will, in fact, be easier than telling someone he really knows. “It’s stupid. I’ve had a crush on, uh, this guy for a couple years. And he probably has a girlfriend now. That’s all.” 

Oikawa hums lightly as he slams on the brakes just in time for a red light. “That’s tough. Captain-kun?” he asks, like it’s not a big deal. 

Suga’s mouth is dry again. “Uh… oh, it’s just the next street on the right,” he says, avoiding the question. 

Oikawa smirks, clearly knowing he’s gotten it right. 

“It’s this house on the left,” Suga says, pointing, and then looking over at Oikawa as he hastily pulls over to park. They sit in silence for a heartbeat before Suga finally responds. “Yeah. Daichi. It’s not a big deal. It was never going to happen, anyway.” He curses himself when his voice cracks. 

Oikawa regards him intensely, and Suga gulps. He’s seen those calculating eyes on the court, but it’s somehow more nerve wracking when he’s right in front of Suga and assessing his personal life instead of his volleyball plays. 

“I’m sorry. But don’t beat yourself up about it,” Oikawa says lightly, leaning back in his seat. “Maybe, somehow, someday, it will end up the way you want. Maybe it won’t. But, either way, don’t overthink it. That won’t help.”

It’s not all that helpful, or insightful, or anything like that. But something about it lightens the tension in Suga’s chest, just a little bit, and he manages to smile at Oikawa. “Yeah. Thank you.” He glances out the window briefly, toward his house. “Hey, let me go grab my wallet. I can pay you—”

“No, no, no, absolutely not! Don’t worry about it, Mr. Refreshing. My pleasure,” Oikawa says, smiling at him. 

Suga sighs in defeat and opens the car door, glancing over at Oikawa, who is being creepily genuine for reasons Suga truly can’t figure out. “Fine, fine, I guess I’ll have to pay you back some other time. Well, seriously, thank you. For covering for me, and the ride, and… yeah, everything.” 

“Any time,” Oikawa purrs, giving Suga a little wave. “See you around.” 

Suga exits the car, head spinning from mild exhaustion from the run and confusion from this entire interaction. He goes to sit on the steps of his house and watches Oikawa drive off, almost fast enough to leave tire marks, and Suga can’t help but smile in amusement. 

After a few minutes, everything really hits him. 

What in the fresh  _ hell _ had just happened?

~

Suga doesn’t see Oikawa until the following Sunday, not that he’s thinking about that at all. 

He’s really  _ not _ thinking about it, at least not compared to how much he’s thinking about Daichi. Daichi, who he spends every break with, hours at practice with, who he texts every time anything at all happens. Daichi, who is already slipping away, who has started spending his lunch breaks with Michimiya, who has been yelled at by Coach Ukai for daydreaming in practice, who is usually on his phone when he’s not physically with Michimiya. And it’s not like Suga  _ blames _ him. He knows these two are just catching up for lost time, not necessarily time they spent apart but time they didn’t  _ really _ spend together. 

But, that really doesn’t make it hurt less. 

So the next Sunday morning, Suga takes off on a run, a proper one. It’s a little warmer than the previous week, but still chilly, and he makes sure to wear the proper clothes. It feels good, a long run where Suga can just listen to music and focus on anything other than Daichi. 

He takes the route unconsciously; he’s really only been this way when they went for their practice match, but somehow Suga finds himself running past Aoba Johsai, and he curses himself. He knows it isn’t like he’ll find Oikawa just lounging around his school on a Sunday (though, it would be sort of on brand), or that Suga will magically locate him once he’s in the vicinity of Seijoh. And he doesn’t even have any reason to look for Oikawa, anyway. 

_ Stupid. Stupid! _

Suga veers off to run through a small neighborhood, and curses himself yet again after only a minute on the suburb sidewalk. The only thing stupider than unconsciously looking for Oikawa is actually running into him when he has  _ no reason to _ . But that’s exactly what happens. 

As soon as Suga runs past him, Oikawa skids to a stop and spins around, catching up with him and reaching over to pull out one of Suga’s earbuds, which definitely catches his attention, so he stops and looks over at the other boy. 

“Mr. Refreshing! What a surprise!” Oikawa says brightly, grinning at him. His cheeks are flushed red from the cold, but he’s not all that out of breath, so Suga figures he must be cutting off Oikawa’s run pretty early. “Are you stalking me, or something?” he teases. 

Suga panics, because he sort of  _ is _ , in a weird, accidental way. “Uh, no. Just… running.”

Oikawa gives him an amused look but plows right on through and says, “Well, either way, I’m glad to see you. I’ve been thinking about your problem!” 

Suga raises an eyebrow. He certainly hadn’t expected  _ that _ . “You have?” 

“But of course! You seemed so beat up that I just couldn’t stop thinking about it!” Oikawa claps Suga on the shoulder and starts walking, not moving his hand. “I think I have some good ideas for you. Come on.” 

“Where are we going?” Suga asks, amused, and maybe just a little nervous. 

“My house. We can’t talk properly out here. It’s cold,” Oikawa explains, and then swivels his head around in a few directions, looking around, before whispering, “plus, I think my neighbors watch everything I do. They think I’m crazy.” 

“Well,” Suga mumbles, allowing himself to be guided by Oikawa. “I certainly can’t imagine why.” 

Oikawa chuckles and they walk in silence for a few minutes before Oikawa steers Suga off to a nice house. Oikawa bounds up to the door and swings it open, skipping in. Suga follows and closes the door lightly behind him, pulling his shoes off. 

“Um,” Suga starts, not sure what he’s going to say, but Oikawa cuts him off with just a gesture, indicating Suga should follow him, so he obliges and allows Oikawa to lead him to what Suga can only assume is his bedroom. 

When they enter, the first thing Suga notices is Iwaizumi. The Aoba Johsai vice captain is sitting on what appears to be the only chair in this entire room, reading from a textbook and jotting down notes. He greets Oikawa without even looking up. 

“Oh. You’re here.” 

Oikawa scowls and kicks off his shoes. “Well, this is  _ my  _ house.” He slumps into a crouching position, leaning against the wall. Suga stands awkwardly in the doorway. 

Suga sees Iwaizumi smirk, but he quickly reverts to a stoic expression and says, “Why are you back so soon? Pretty short run. Is your knee okay?” 

“Of course it is! God, what are you, my mom?” Oikawa asks petulantly, but Suga notices him rubbing his right knee at the mention of it. 

Iwaizumi chucks his pencil at Oikawa and nails him in the head, and the setter shrieks in protest. When Iwaizumi finally looks up and sees Suga, his eyebrows immediately shoot upwards. “Oh, sorry. Should I…” he pauses, glancing at Oikawa hesitantly. “Should I get out of here or something?” 

It takes a minute for Suga to comprehend exactly what Iwaizumi is asking, but once he figures it out, he can only assume he’s blushing so hard that his whole face is red. Just how many times has that happened that it’s Iwaizumi’s  _ immediate  _ thought?

Oikawa waves his hand in a dismissive gesture. “No, no. Unless you  _ don’t _ want to watch, that is.”

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” Iwaizumi says to Oikawa, and spins the chair around to look at Suga. “Hey. Congratulations on beating Shiratorizawa.” 

“Thanks,” Suga says, somehow feeling the most awkward he’s ever felt in his life. Watching Oikawa and Iwaizumi talk sort of felt like spying on an eighty year old married couple. 

“Mr. Refreshing here has a problem,” Oikawa explains, pointing a thumb at Suga. “I want to help him.” 

Iwaizumi turns back to his book and rests his chin on his hand. “Oh, yeah? Because you’re just so selfless and helpful. What’s up?” 

Oikawa looks at Suga, and he can’t tell if he’s asking permission to explain or if he wants Suga to explain himself, but Suga’s throat gets all closed up just thinking about Daichi again, so he just nods at Oikawa. 

“He has a crush on Captain-kun,” Oikawa says, standing up and stretching. He goes over to lean over Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Iwaizumi scowls as Oikawa approaches, but leans back slightly so that Oikawa is properly pressed against the chair. “But Captain-kun has a girlfriend now… Hey, you got the third problem wrong.” Oikawa leans over Iwaizumi to tap his notebook. 

Iwaizumi furiously erases, frowning. “Tough break.” Suga cringes, because he’s starting to feel like it really is just one hell of a tough break. 

“Not to fear, Mr. Refreshing! I am an expert at relationships—”

“Is that why you’re always single, Trashykawa?”

“And I’m feeling very helpful—”

“Scary.”

“Stop interrupting me Iwa!” Oikawa yells in frustration, clapping his hands onto Iwaizumi’s shoulders. “Look, Captain-kun getting a girlfriend made you jealous, right?” He looks to Suga for confirmation. “You know, because you like him, and all.”

Suga nods. 

“So to gauge if you have a chance, you need to see if you can make him jealous!” 

“Flawless logic.”

“Be quiet!” Oikawa stomps his foot. “So you need to do the same thing.” 

Suga feels so lost that there are probably question marks actually materializing above his head. “What?” he asks, because he doesn’t know how else he’s supposed to respond to that.

“You need to date someone. Or, pretend to date someone,” Oikawa explains, beginning to massage Iwaizumi’s shoulders, which earns him no reaction. 

“Why, exactly?” Suga asks, still sort of lost. 

“Look, you need to see if you can make him jealous, because if you can, it means you have a chance!” Oikawa explains, again. Iwaizumi shakes his head. “So to do that, he needs to see you with someone else.”

“God, you are so terrible,” Iwaizumi mutters, crossing something out on his notes. 

Suga thinks, genuinely thinks about what Oikawa is saying. It makes just a little sense, in a twisted sort of way, but it’s not like Suga really wants to trick Daichi. He never thought he had a chance, anyway. But… on the other hand, if it could  _ really _ work, maybe it would be worth it. But… “Who the hell am I supposed to fake date?” 

He can hear Iwaizumi muttering “why are you even entertaining this nonsense?” but Suga is focused on Oikawa. 

Oikawa looks a little taken aback, and pauses his massaging to think. “Uh, what about Mr. Goatee?” 

“Asahi? No, that wouldn’t make any sense,” Suga dismisses, even though that’s one of the lower reasons on his list to reject that particular idea. “Plus, he’s a terrible liar.” 

Oikawa hums for a moment, and then smiles, slowly, a smile that immediately puts Suga on edge. Iwaizumi looks up, apparently confused by Oikawa’s silence. 

“Oh no,” the ace says, shaking his head. 

“Just fake date me!” Oikawa exclaims. “It would make sense! We’re both pretty, and I’m an excellent liar!” 

“That’s for sure.”

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa shrieks. 

Suga feels like this is probably a terrible idea. He generally tries not to lie, and pretending he’s dating  _ anyone _ , let alone Oikawa Tōru, is definitely going against that rule. But he can’t help but be drawn to the idea. The past week of Daichi slipping so easily into the orbit of a relationship had been so  _ frustrating _ . And it isn’t like he has any better ideas. But, still. 

“I think that’s a bad idea,” Suga admits, and Oikawa sighs in frustration and Iwaizumi sighs in relief. “But, maybe I will just tell him I’m dating someone. Just to see how he reacts. I’ll keep it vague.” That could work, right?

“Fine, fine,” Oikawa says, throwing his hands up. “Play all secretive with Captain-kun. But, when you need to break out the big guns…” he pauses, ripping a corner from Iwaizumi’s page of notes and stealing his pen to scribble something on it. He strides over to Suga and holds out the piece of paper, which Suga takes and glances over: it has what Suga can only assume is Oikawa’s number scrawled on it. 

Something in his chest constricts and Suga can only assume his body is trying to tell him that this is definitely a bad, maybe even terrible, idea. 

Shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if there's grammar mistakes (lmk), i wrote most of this at five am
> 
> and lmk if there's anything you want to see out of a fic like this. it's mostly planned but i can always add stuff
> 
> thx for reading :)


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for mild injury

**Sugawara Kōshi**

hey! this is Sugawara :) 

**Oikawa Tōru**

mr. refreshing! have u decided to ditch the vague approach after all ?? (ɔ◔︣‿◔︣)ɔ ❤

 **Sugawara Kōshi**

🙄🙄🙄it’s only been two hours silly! i’m just making sure you get my number 

**Oikawa Tōru**

well well u know who to call if u change ur mind… ≧◠‿◠≦✌

Suga can’t help but laugh at Oikawa’s (totally on brand) use of silly emoticons, and even though he still thinks pretending to date Oikawa just to get a rise out of Daichi is _definitely_ a bad idea, he’s also starting to think that it might be worth it if it means he gets to even _begin_ to understand the enigma that is Oikawa Tōru. 

~

It’s midway through the week when Suga finally takes the leap of lying to Daichi. 

Michimiya has career counseling during her lunch break on Thursday, so Daichi joins Suga and Asahi for lunch, and it’s so easy to fall back into the old habit, the old conversations, banter, that Suga can almost trick himself into forgetting. 

“So, are you guys doing anything Saturday night?” Asahi asks through a mouthful of rice, and Suga lets himself be hopeful, for just a second, that maybe the three of them can just watch some shitty movies and hang out like they used to. 

_Like we used to_ , Suga thinks, mentally cursing himself. _It’s only been a couple weeks, Suga, you dummy. I’m really losing it._

Before Suga can answer, Daichi reluctantly says, “Sorry, I have a date.” Daichi still says those words with a slight blush and a stupid smile, like it’s a brand new sentence to him, even though Suga feels like he’s heard them every day for the past two and a half weeks. 

Suga doesn’t even think before he says it, and he’s not totally sure why he says it. Oikawa’s plan is stupid and evil; it _has to be_. After all, it did come from Oikawa. But for as many flaws Suga is sure Oikawa’s prospective mind game has, he can’t bring himself to find any of them. So Suga immediately follows Daichi’s response with, “Yeah, me too. Sorry. What about Sunday?” 

Asahi considers this for a moment, and Suga almost laughs at his obvious inability to keep track of his schedule. 

Daichi, on the other hand, immediately whips his head to the side to look at Suga, eyebrows raised. “Wait, _what_? You… have a date?” 

Suga can’t decide if he should be offended that Daichi is so surprised or smug that it seems to have had an effect on him. Asahi also seems to suddenly take in Suga’s words, and he looks at him, mild surprise obvious on his face. 

Suga looks down in what he hopes comes across as a sign of shyness instead of dishonesty. “Oh, yeah. I’ve sort of been seeing this guy, I guess.” 

“Whoa, that’s awesome!” Asahi exclaims at the same time Daichi all but demands, “Who?” 

Suga waves his hand dismissively and takes a tactful sip of his water before answering. “He goes to another school. It’s no big deal.” 

Asahi is lightly clapping, but Suga’s eyes are trained on Daichi, who still looks like he’s in a little bit of a shock. Suga thinks, just for a second, that maybe this stupid little lie might be enough for Daichi to reevaluate his relationship. 

But, nothing can ever be that easy. 

Daichi quickly gains his composure and offers Suga a big, bright, _genuine_ (and Suga can tell) smile. “That’s great, Suga. We’ll have to meet him sometime!” 

Suga sighs internally, but gives Daichi his best approximation of an approving smile and standing up. “Well, I better be off to class. See you guys at practice later!” 

Suga pulls out his phone to send off a quick text as he heads to class, too frustrated to care that this probably is of absolutely no importance to the person on the receiving end of Suga’s message. 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

UGH

Suga feels kind of bad for texting him while he’s probably in class, but to his surprise he immediately gets a response. 

**Oikawa Tōru**

frustrated? 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

maybe 

**Oikawa Tōru**

thinking about how beautiful and perfect i am? ≧◠ᴥ◠≦

**Oikawa Tōru**

jk. captain-kun? 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

maybe :( 

**Oikawa Tōru**

:/ txt me later if ur free. let’s have a strategy meeting. gtg learn calculus >:( 

Suga smiles to himself before he is crushed by the overwhelming question that has been looming over him since he first ran into Oikawa at the convenience store. Why the _hell_ is Oikawa so keen on helping him? 

Practice ends mid evening, and Suga sends Oikawa a text when they’re finished up. After getting home, showering, and wolfing down dinner, he has yet to hear a response. He considers following up, which is sort of silly. He and Oikawa aren’t exactly _friends_ or anything. In fact, they barely even know each other. He’s being silly. He should just let it be. 

Or not. 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

? 

He feels stupid after sending it, but it seems to do the trick because Oikawa responds after a couple of minutes. 

**Oikawa Tōru**

sorry, working on something. can u come to seijoh? gotta work and talk at the same time

Suga wonders if he’s studying or something. It’s pretty damn late for Oikawa to still be at school. 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

sure, if i’m not bothering you!

**Oikawa Tōru**

of course not (•◡•) / there’s a bus stop that should drop you off about a block from here. i’m in the gym u guys came to when we practiced

**Sugawara Kōshi**

👍

Suga quickly takes off after giving his mom a vague excuse about helping a friend with homework and promising not to be out too late. He spends the bus ride grappling with his interaction with Daichi. Was his surprise actually jealousy or just… surprise? Did he recover so quickly because he didn’t care either way, or because the simple ‘I have a date’ announcement just wasn’t direct enough, real enough, to spark any type of real emotion? 

Once the bus drops him off and he makes his way to Aoba Johsai, Suga can’t help but wander around the campus dumbstruck for a few minutes. He’s been here before, but it seems even bigger at night when it’s totally empty. They have so many buildings that it makes Suga feel like he’s suddenly in a big city, or something. Which, he admits to himself, is very silly and ‘country bumpkin’ of him. 

Eventually he finds his way to the gym that Oikawa had assured Suga he’d be in. Suga stops in the open entrance, somehow, indescribably, simultaneously shocked and not at all surprised at the sight in front of him. 

Oikawa is on one end of a court, his hair plastered to his forehead and curling up in all sorts of unusual cowlicks. He’s in simple training gear, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving from the effort of whatever he’s been practicing. At the very other edge of the court, Suga can see empty bottles set up nearly on the endline, some of them standing but most of them knocked over.

Suga watches as Oikawa throws up a ball, in what Suga can tell is a perfect serve toss, and he has to stop himself from clapping or gasping or _something_ when Oikawa practically _spikes_ a jump serve with perfect accuracy to knock down a bottle that’s right in the corner of the court. 

Suga has seen a lot of serves throughout his career. A lot of good ones: powerful ones, like Ushijima’s, calculated ones, like the serves of the second year setter of Inarizaki that Suga has been watching clips of to prepare for nationals. But he’s not sure he’ll ever see a serve that can combine technique, power, and accuracy as well as Oikawa’s can; he almost looks _graceful_ , which is one hell of a word to describe someone who has just slammed a ball down with so much power that it almost seems unnatural. 

Suga hesitantly takes a step into the gym, but Oikawa still doesn’t notice him, and Suga takes the opportunity to really look at the other setter as he catches his breath after landing his last serve. He has a look of such intense concentration that Suga almost can’t read anything else, but he catches something else lurking under that focus. He can’t quite pin it, but Suga can tell it’s definitely _unpleasant_. He watches as Oikawa takes another ball and nails another serve, smashing the ball into the other opposite corner of the court. 

_Yeesh_ , Suga thinks, taking a few more strides towards Oikawa. He clears his throat and greets him simply. “Hey.” 

Oikawa turns to look at Suga, and for a second his expression is totally blank, in a way that almost makes Suga take a step back out of caution. Almost like it takes him a second to register the situation, Oikawa’s expression quickly shifts into a bright smile that Suga can tell is just a little strained at the edges. “Well, well, Mr. Refreshing! Thanks for coming all this way, sorry to hear about your boy troubles,” he says, and then gestures to the side of the court. “I set up this bench for you. Sorry, I’ll have to talk and serve.” 

Suga heads over to take a seat at the chair as Oikawa ducks under the net and sets up all of the bottles up again. “You look good. Your serves, I mean,” Suga says, settling onto the bench. 

“Thanks,” Oikawa says, a shorter and simpler response than Suga would expect from Oikawa, especially after a compliment. “So, what’s up?” 

“Well,” Suga starts, tracking Oikawa’s movements as he quickly stretches down to touch his toes and then takes a ball to throw up another serve toss. “I told Daichi today I’d been seeing a guy, you know. Vague, like I said. And I thought… I don’t know. I thought he seemed like he was upset about it, but he got over it pretty fast. Maybe he was just surprised.” 

Oikawa makes a hand gesture and grunts in a way that Suga can only interpret as telling him to go on.

“I don’t know. I guess I can’t tell if he was only a little surprised because he just really doesn’t care if I’m dating someone, or if it’s just not…” Suga trails off, not exactly sure what to say. It’s a jarring feeling; Suga is usually confident that even when he’s totally lost he can come up with the words to hide it, but he’s struggling even with that. 

“Not in his face enough?” Oikawa supplies, immediately after landing another serve. He’s out of breath and his legs are trembling slightly, and Suga has to wonder how long he’s been at this, how late he’s planning to stay here. 

Suga nods meekly, and settles in to idly watch Oikawa serve for the next fifteen minutes or so, trying to collect his thoughts. 

Once Oikawa has knocked over all the bottles again, he makes his way to the bench to chug an almost entirely full bottle of water. He looks at Suga nearly as intensely as he’s been looking at his serve tosses, and Suga can’t help but shrink back a little against the gaze. 

“I think,” Suga says, hesitantly, as Oikawa wipes some of the sweat off of his face, “I think maybe I could be ready to bring out the big guns.” 

He almost immediately regrets saying it, because it prompts Oikawa to smile impishly, his eyes lighting up unnervingly. Suga is pretty sure someone shouldn’t be so excited at the prospect of an elaborate lie, but he supposes if that’s the case then he’s just as bad for encouraging it. 

“I knew you would come around, Suga-chan! This is going to be so fun!” Oikawa squeals, throwing his towel aside. He’s practically jumping up and down. “Okay, first things first. Does your team know? That you’re into dudes?” 

Suga nods, slowly. “Yeah. They sort of found out by accident,” he says, sheepishly, and Oikawa gives him a questioning look that he just waves off. “But they know, and they’re very supportive!”

“How sweet,” Oikawa says, in a way that makes it sound like he does not actually find that particularly sweet. Suga wonders if he’s just being difficult for the hell of it. “So, I’m thinking we do a surprise reveal. You know, make it sound like you were trying to keep it a secret and all, because, well, _duh_. Your whole team needs to be convinced if we’re going to make this a compelling charade and really gauge Captain-kun’s reaction.” 

Suga isn’t sure he follows the logic, but Oikawa is very good at sounding like he makes perfect sense. “Okay, whatever you say, I guess. What are you thinking?” 

Oikawa waves him off and caps his water bottle, turning to head back towards the end line of the court. “I’ll come surprise you at school, or practice, or something. The less you know the better. We want this to be as real as possible.” He sort of laughs at himself as he picks up a ball and spins it in his hands. “Well, as real as possible given the circumstances.” 

Suga nods slowly, though there are so many questions brewing in the back of his mind. He’s not sure where to start, so he goes back to watching Oikawa serve instead. 

Once it nears midnight Suga _really_ begins to wonder how long Oikawa is planning to keep this up for, and why no Aoba Johsai faculty stopped him a long time ago, and if this overexertion is counterproductive. 

He’s starting to get lost in the thoughts when he hears Oikawa mutter a strangled “shit,” and Suga looks at the ball first, watches it hit the net. It’s the first serve he’s seen Oikawa flub tonight, but he figures it must just be statistically impossible to get that many right in a row. He looks over at Oikawa just in time to see him land, stumble, and fall backwards, immediately going to clutch at his knee, the one he wears a compression sleeve on. 

Suga immediately jumps up from the bench and rushes over to kneel next to Oikawa, who is clutching his right knee with one hand and gesturing for Suga to back up with the other. He’s wearing a pained expression and he’s breathing so hard that he’s practically hyperventilating. “I’m fine,” he chokes out. 

Suga shakes his head and takes Oikawa’s free hand and tries to pull him up. At first Suga thinks he’s fine, that it was just a slip. Oikawa’s a little unsteady to be sure, and he’s leaning on his left side, but he offers Suga a smile that is almost believable, and for a second Suga really thinks it’s fine. But he knows he’s just being hopeful.

“Can you put weight on it?” Suga asks, carefully watching Oikawa for a reaction. His face is paler than usual, and he’s gripping Suga’s hand probably harder than he needs to, the leg he’s leaning on starting to shake under the weight. Oikawa opens his mouth, and Suga interrupts. “You’d better not lie to me,” he says, fixing a serious look on the other boy, the look he gives the rowdiest members of his team when he needs to really play vice captain. Oikawa almost visibly shrinks against the glare, and he shakes his head in a definite no. 

Suga sighs and prys his hand from Oikawa’s so he can properly get under his shoulder to support him and help him walk over to the bench. Suga helps Oikawa lower himself to sit on the bench, and Oikawa immediately buries his head into his hands. “Sorry,” he mumbles, almost unintelligibly. 

Suga stares and decides to just ignore that and ask the important question. “Should I call a—”

“No,” Oikawa says, choked, and Suga thinks he might be crying but it’s hard to tell when he won’t look up. 

Suga shakes his head, starting to pull out his phone. “No, you definitely need—”

“I need to call Iwa,” Oikawa interrupts, lifting his head a little. It’s not enough for Suga to see him, but just enough that he’s clear enough to understand. “Has to be him. But…” he pauses, sounding embarrassed as hell. “He’s gonna be so mad.” 

Suga sighs, realizing that it _really_ is like he’s dealing with a child. “Give me your phone,” he says, exasperated. Oikawa sits there for a minute before reaching behind the bench to rummage around in his bag. He eventually pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and hands it to Suga. Suga is sort of surprised that the other boy actually complied, but glad he didn’t have to fight him for this. Suga finds Iwaizumi’s number (he’s marked as Oikawa’s only favorite contact) and calls him. 

Iwaizumi sounds sleepy when he answers after just two rings. “What the hell, dumbass? If this is some stupid question about aliens, I—”

“Hi, this is Sugawara, from Karasuno. Sorry to bother you,” he says, trying to make quick business of this so Oikawa can get some damn help. “Oikawa hurt his knee. He told me to call you.”

“Shit!” Iwaizumi curses, and Suga hears rustling on the other end of the line. “That idiot. Where are you?” 

“Seijoh. Your gym.” 

“I’ll be there in ten. Thanks for the call.” Suga hears a beep, indicating Iwaizumi has hung up, so he hands Oikawa back his phone. 

Oikawa is uncharacteristically silent, and Suga finds himself unnerved, unsure of what to do. The silence feels consuming, almost suffocating. Suga obviously hasn’t known Oikawa long and it’s not like he knows him _well_ , but he’s only known Oikawa to fill almost any situation with a playful comment (sure, he has his moments that genuinely make Suga think he’s a psychopath, but few and far between), to not outwardly take anything too seriously. But Suga can tell by the set of Oikawa’s jaw, by the way the color has drained out of his face, by the way his eyes are screwed shut, that not even Oikawa can banter his way out of this one. Suga finds himself wanting to fill the silence, or do _anything_ that will make Oikawa look a little bit more like, well, Oikawa. He can’t think of anything to say, so Suga inches closer to the setter until their arms are just barely brushing. 

They sit like that, in silence, for about ten minutes until they hear footsteps approaching from outside, and Oikawa actually, noticeably, cringes. 

Iwaizumi is yelling as soon as he’s in their vision, bounding towards the gym at an impressive speed. “You _idiot_ , you absolute _piece of shit_ , are you _actually_ stupid? Are you _trying_ to hurt yourself?” Oikawa buries his head back into hands as Iwaizumi enters the gym, sprinting towards them. He slides onto his knees as he approaches them (which _has_ to hurt, Suga thinks) and stops in front of Oikawa, hands hovering over his knee like he’s not really sure what to do. He looks around, zeroing in on the knocked over bottles at the end of the court. “You’ve been hitting serves? How long have you been here?” Oikawa makes a pained noise and Iwaizumi practically _growls_. “Don’t tell me you’ve been here since practice ended!” 

Iwaizumi seems to take Oikawa’s silence as a yes, because he groans and sets one hand on Oikawa’s knee and starts to curl his fingers around the top of his knee pad. 

“Don’t,” Oikawa says, his voice flat and deep, raising his head from his hands to look at Iwaizumi. “I think it’s just sprained again. Just take me to the doctor?” Suga identifies that Oikawa sounds _tired_ , unbelievably tired, and Suga wonders if it’s just the injury or if there’s something else swimming underneath the surface that’s making him sound that way. 

Iwaizumi sighs and stands up, moving to help Oikawa get up. Suga grabs Oikawa’s bag from behind the bench and stands up, watching the pair closely to make sure they don’t need any more support. “Come on, Sugawara, I can drop you off at the bus stop. Sorry you had to deal with him,” Iwaizumi says, looking at Suga and shrugging. 

“Don’t worry about it, I really can walk. You should just get him—”

“Nah, it’s on the way,” Iwaizumi cuts him off and starts walking with Oikawa leaning on him, giving the setter quick side glances to make sure he’s not putting any weight on his right side. 

Suga opens his mouth to protest, because it’s really _fine_ for him to walk, and Oikawa looks like he’s in so much pain that his visit to the doctor _really_ shouldn’t be delayed any more. But Suga looks at Iwaizumi, the stoic and determined expression on his face as he leads Oikawa out of the gym and towards the parking lot, and Suga decides better of trying to argue with him.

“Give me your keys,” Iwaizumi says, teeth gritted as they approach Oikawa’s car. 

“In my bag,” Oikawa says weakly, and Suga immediately takes his cue to dig around in Oikawa’s bag for a few seconds before he triumphantly finds the keys and hands them to Iwaizumi. 

Once they reach the car, Iwaizumi swings open the front passenger side with one arm and helps Oikawa get in, promptly slamming the door closed once he’s accomplished that task. Iwaizumi turns to Suga just before he can get in the car, and says, “Hey, thanks for staying with him. He’s so stupid when he gets this way. You probably stopped him from trying to run home like he did the last time he hurt his leg.” 

Suga is sort of shocked by the bluntness, but he also appreciates the even honesty of Iwaizumi’s words, the way he seems so solid in the face of this near emergency. 

That said, he’s not totally sure how to respond. He feels sort of guilty, actually, for staying and watching Oikawa work for longer than he should have, for thinking it was bad and not saying anything, for lacking the determination that Iwaziumi has to just drag Oikawa out of the gym and to the doctor. 

Suga settles on as few (awkward) words as possible. “Yeah, of course. No problem.” Iwaizumi offers him a small, albeit tight, smile that Suga just barely manages to return before getting in the car. 

~

“Are you mad at me?” Oikawa asks softly, staring up at the ceiling. It’s nearly seven in the morning, and he and Iwaizumi had just made it back to Oikawa’s house and are lying on his bed, a foot apart. 

“I think you’re an idiot,” Iwaizumi says, quietly, the bite all absent from his words. “I don’t know why you keep doing this to yourself.” 

_Yes you do_ , Oikawa wants to say, biting his lip. He can’t say it. He doesn’t want to get into it again. “You heard her. I’ll be perfect in a couple of weeks. It’s not bad.”

“Yeah,” Iwa agrees gruffly. “It’s not bad. This time.” 

Oikawa closes his eyes and releases a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. This is the last time.” 

“Okay, Tōru,” Iwaizumi says, tired. 

Oikawa is so sick of making Iwa sound like that. He taps his fingers nervously against his thigh, trying to control his breath. “I—” 

“Shut up dumbass,” Iwa grunts, reaching over and finding Oikawa’s hand with his own, lacing their fingers together and squeezing once. 

They lie in silence for a few minutes, and Iwaizumi’s breath starts to slow in the way it always does when he’s about to fall asleep, and Oikawa is expecting this to be lights out for Iwa for a few hours. 

“What are you doing with the Karasuno setter?” Iwa mumbles sleepily, much to Oikawa’s surprise. 

“I’m just helping him out. He was being all emo, and if it stayed that way I’d have to change his nickname,” Oikawa tells him evenly, obviously evading the question. He opens his eyes to look back up at his ceiling, and he suddenly wishes it wasn’t so boring. Maybe he can convince Iwa to put some glow in the dark stars up there. 

“That’s not like you.”

Oikawa scowls reflexively, overdramatic even though Iwaizumi isn’t looking at him. “I _can_ be nice sometimes, you know!”

“Yeah, yeah.” 

He can tell Iwa is nearly asleep because he can’t even insult him, so Oikawa just squeezes his friend’s hand lightly and shuts up. 

Maybe an hour later, Oikawa is still awake. He’s been fending off panic since his knee gave out, and, if he’s honest with himself, maybe even before then. Iwaizumi’s presence might be the only thing keeping him from really losing it. 

_Pathetic_ , he thinks to himself, rapidly blinking back tears. His knee aches, and he curses stupid Iwaizumi for hiding the pain meds the doctor gave him. Stupid responsible people! 

Oikawa reaches over when he hears his phone vibrate, grabbing around blindly until he locates it and holds it close to his face. The message is blurring together, a combination of exhaustion and his lack of glasses or contacts, but he can make it out. 

**Sugawara Kōshi**

hey how’s your knee? 

**Oikawa Tōru**

it’s fine mr. refreshing, no need for concern! ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ just a little sprain

**Oikawa Tōru**

sorry u had to deal with that! 

**Oikawa Tōru**

but more importantly, i’m glad we figured out ur next move!!!! be prepared ᕙ(^▿^-ᕙ)

Oikawa stares at the chat, feeling a sudden, overwhelming urge to just chuck his phone at the wall, so he does. Aggressively. It definitely shatters.The noise wakes Iwaizumi. 

“What in the _hell_ is _wrong_ with you?” 

~

“Alright, we’re gonna wrap up with a full practice match,” Coach Ukai shouts once he’s decided he’s had enough of watching the team try to serve. “Team A: Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Sawamura, Tanaka, Azumane.” 

Team A, primarily the Karasuno starting lineup, head over to their side of the court, Hinata and Tanaka yelling loudly about some nonsense. 

Coach Ukai clears his throat and they promptly shut up. “That means Team B: Sugawara, Yamaguchi, Narita, Ennoshita, Kinoshita, Nishinoya.” 

Suga idly walks to his position, barely containing a yawn. Practice had been especially brutal today. Takeda Sensei was at a faculty meeting, so it was only Coach Ukai running practice, and he seemed to really have it out for them. 

Suga makes eye contact with Daichi from across the net and grins, shouting, “We’re gonna kick your ass, captain!” 

Daichi laughs, good natured, and yells, “I’d like to see you try, _vice_ captain.” 

It’s such a simple back and forth, one they always have some variation of before practice matches, but for some reason it just makes Suga’s heart ache. 

_I’m just having a bad day_ , Suga thinks, rapidly trying to rationalize why the most simple of conversations is getting to him. He hit snooze on his alarm too many times, and then he had spilled hot tea all over freshly washed school uniform, and then he had definitely bombed a practice entrance exam. 

Still, the grueling hours of practice _do_ sort of help him cheer up. He spends most of his time working with the guys who aren’t starters, who are all trying to hone their skills for if they have to be substituted in. He’s doing this because he wants to help all of the members reach their full potential, because helping others always lifts his spirits, and definitely _not_ because he’s subtly trying to avoid Daichi, who has been asking the third years group chat if they want to hang out with him and Michimiya every day for a week. 

He can feel he’s not performing his best during the practice match. He’s not targeting his serves very well, not reading his teammates very well, and miscalculating his tosses all over the place. He knows Daichi’s encouraging smiles from across the net should be helping, but he thinks they’re actually having the opposite effect. 

They take a short break after Team A decisively wins the first set, and Suga is too distracted by apologizing profusely to his teammates to notice (and prepare himself for) the sudden appearance of Oikawa Tōru. 

He hears Kageyama mutter “what the hell” at the same time Tanaka demands “what is Mr. Slim doing here?” 

Suga stiffens when he hears it, because he _knows_ who Tanaka is talking about. He hasn’t talked to Oikawa in over a week, but he supposed the other setter did say he would surprise Suga. That said, hearing it in theory and it actually happening is… totally different. He takes a deep breath and turns around. 

“Great King!” Hinata shrieks. “Are you here to spy on us?”

Suga sharply inhales, because, yeah. There he is. It’s not just a weird daydream that Suga’s mind dreamt up. Oikawa is standing in the doorway of their gym, smiling apologetically. He’s wearing his stupid glasses, an Aoba Johsai hoodie, and white athletic shorts, and Suga is sort of surprised Oikawa has shown up to put on this show dressed like that. Suga’s skin crawls when he sees that Oikawa is wearing a knee brace and leaning on crutches.

Suga is kind of expecting Oikawa to go full child-mode when he sees Kageyama, but he totally ignores the first year setter and instead looks at Hinata, coolly raising an eyebrow. “Spy?” he asks, going deadpan. “Well, I’m not sure how much that would do for me, since the next time you play Seijoh I won’t be on the team.” 

Hinata considers this for a moment and then nods slowly, obviously approving of the answer. 

“Then why are you here?” Kageyama asks, bristling. 

Oikawa zeroes in on Kageyama, and Suga thinks _for sure_ that this is where it will go off the rails, because he’s not sure if Oikawa’s interest in this act of theirs outweighs his interest in competing with Kageyama. 

“Well, Tobio-chan,” Oikawa starts evenly, “I’m just here to pick up my boyfriend. No need to worry. You won’t have to lose to me today!” 

Kageyama looks like he’s about to say something, so Suga steps in and yells across the court to Oikawa. “You’re gonna have to wait. We’re not done.”

Suga can practically _hear_ the cogs turning in the heads of his teammates, but he’s not ready to handle their reactions yet, so he keeps his eyes on Oikawa, who takes a few steps into the gym and feigns shock, looking right back at Suga. 

“But it’s so late! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Oikawa whines, somehow managing to stay balanced enough on his crutches to wave his arms in exaggerated panic. 

Suga can’t help but smile fondly at his stupid antics, and retorts, “says the guy who just broke his knee.”

Suga wishes he could take it back as soon as he says it, because even from halfway across the gym he can see Oikawa’s expression contort into something he can’t quite read but he knows he should either be afraid of or worried about. Oikawa replaces it nearly as quickly as it comes, and sticks out his tongue at Suga. “Just a sprain!” he corrects childishly. 

Suga is about to respond when Coach Ukai barks, “Oikawa!” 

Oikawa shoots Suga a sheepish look, and Suga can practically hear his voice in the back of his head, ‘oopsies, I made blondie angry!’ Suga has to hold back a laugh as he inches towards the net so he can hear Oikawa and Ukai talk. He can feel his teammates staring at him, but even though Suga had thought the first thing he’d want to do is look at Daichi, he finds himself awfully interested in what is about to happen to Oikawa, who is currently looking apologetically at Coach Ukai and bowing the best he can on the crutches. 

“I’m so sorry for the intrusion, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I really thought you would be wrapped up,” Oikawa says, rubbing the back of his head meekly. “I can go—”

Much to Suga’s surprise (and Oikawa’s, it looks like) Ukai holds up a hand to stop him and pats the seat on the bench next to him. “You can stay, just this once,” Ukai says gruffly. “But no more distracting my vice captain.” 

Oikawa grins and sits, neatly leaning his crutches against the bench. Suga expects him to give Kageyama a smug grin or stick his tongue out at him or something, but he just rests his chin on his hand and gives Suga a fond smile. Suga briefly considers going out and buying Oikawa a trophy to award him, because his acting is as impeccable as ever. 

Suga shakes his head and runs back to his position as Ukai yells at them to start the second set. He finally looks across the net, and he is faced with a variation of reactions. Kageyama looks like he might murder someone (though, he usually looks that way). Hinata and Tanaka keep looking at each other and then at Oikawa and then at Suga, the perfect combination of confused and angry. Asahi catches Suga’s eye and offers him a smile that is both perplexed and genuine. Suga looks over to the corner where Daichi is standing, offering him an apologetic look, because he knows Daichi is none too fond of interruptions during practice. He is surprised to see that Daichi _does_ look angry, but not his ‘I’m gonna kill the underclassmen’ angry, but the type of angry that he looks when he can’t figure out a math problem or he can’t nail a receive. He totally avoids Suga’s gaze. 

_Huh?_

Suga spends the rest of the practice match stealing glances at Daichi, who is _definitely_ avoiding looking at him, and at Oikawa, who is wearing a look of intense concentration watching them play. Team A wastes no time taking the second set from them; Suga thinks Kageyama steps up his game in front of Oikawa, whereas Suga is pretty sure he somehow does worse than he did in the first set. 

Suga grabs Ennoshita to stretch with after the game, because he’s pretty sure Ennoshita is going to give him the least shit, but somehow he finds himself being lectured for fifteen minutes in absolute silence. Ennoshita truly has a terrifying glare. He’s going to make an incredible captain. 

Finally Suga makes his way over to the bench, where Oikawa is still sitting and chatting amicably with Coach Ukai. Which, Suga thinks, is kind of unnerving. 

“Hey,” he greets Oikawa, smiling at him in a way that is very real, because he must admit Oikawa’s appearance at practice is probably the first thing that’s made Suga sort of happy today. 

Oikawa looks away from Ukai and beams, holding his arms out to Suga expectantly. Suga rolls his eyes and grasps Oikawa’s hands in his, pulling him up and letting the taller boy lean against him while Suga reaches over to get his crutches. Oikawa is unnaturally warm against him, and he remembers it being like this the last time he had to help Oikawa stand, too. Was this guy a furnace or something? 

“Thank you, Suga-chan,” Oikawa says, still smiling. He takes the crutches and points to his bag, abandoned on the bench. “Can you grab that for me?” 

“Of course!” Suga says sweetly, and he’s not putting on a show or anything; he’s just being nice, but he can feel the eyes of his teammates trained on them from varying distances like they’re members of an anxious audience. He shakes off the feeling and grabs Oikawa’s bag, slinging it over his own shoulder, and starts towards the exit. “C’mon Tōru,” he says brightly, sing-song, and turns his head just in time to see that he has made Oikawa blush a deep red. 

Oikawa _freaking_ Tōru! Who knew the secret to shaking that charm was just to call him by his given name! How simple. Suga catalogues that in the back of his mind. 

He slows down a few paces to let Oikawa catch up, and they pass Tsukishima as they leave, who pulls on his headphones as he mutters, “Gross.” 

They walk together for maybe five minutes before Suga breaks the silence. “I don’t think they were very happy with that,” he says, maybe a little wistfully.

Oikawa hums thoughtfully for a few seconds. “It was a lot of fun though! If this whole volleyball thing doesn’t work out, I should totally become an actor! Couldn’t you imagine me in a romantic comedy?” he exclaims brightly, grinning playfully at Suga. 

And Suga hates to admit it, but… “Yeah. I totally could.”

“Sawamura was making this freaky face. I thought he might punch me,” Oikawa says, more serious, his voice dropping a few tones. 

“I think he just doesn’t like interruptions.” 

“No,” Oikawa argues, shaking his head. “It wasn’t like that. It was like… one time I was with this guy,” he starts, vaguely, “and his boyfriend showed up. And he beat the shit out of me. And he had this look on his face.” Oikawa is scrunching up his expression like he’s trying to mimic what he’s describing, but he must not be able to nail it, because he gives up after a few tries. “I don’t know, it was just this special kind of mad. And that’s what Captain-kun looked like.” 

Suga almost asks Oikawa to tell him more about this story, because he’s not sure he totally believes it or understands exactly what Oikawa is describing, but that’s forgotten when he considers the implication of Oikawa’s last sentence. He widens his eyes in disbelief and thinks back; he had definitely thought Daichi’s look was one of deep frustration as opposed to modest annoyance, but he’s not sure what he’s supposed to extrapolate from that. 

Oikawa, on the other hand, seems far more confident in his read. “Trust me, Mr. Refreshing. We can get somewhere with this, if we push it a little further.”

Suga can’t help himself. For the rest of the walk to the bus stop to see Oikawa off (because “Iwa-chan took my car keys! That dummy insists you need to be able to put weight on your leg to drive! Stupid!”) he is smiling stupidly. 

He’d known Daichi a pretty long time, and he’s had this crush for about that long. And never once did he allow himself to consider the possibility that it might be possible for Daichi to feel the same way. And it’s not like it’s _confirmed_ or anything; far from it. All Oikawa said was that Daichi made a face. But that was still enough for Suga to breathe a little sigh of relief, to give him a flash of hope. 

God, when did he become such a _sap_?

~

 **KARASUNO VBC 3RD YEARS** ⭐

**Sawamura Daichi**

So Suga

 **Sugawara** **Kōshi**

❓

**Sawamura Daichi**

Are you seriously dating Oikawa?

 **Sugawara** **Kōshi**

well it’s not that serious it’s only been a few weeks

**Sawamura Daichi**

You know what I mean. 

**Sawamura Daichi**

I mean, seriously. Oikawa?? 

**Azumane Asahi**

It actually kind of makes sense

**Shimizu Kiyoko**

^^^

 **Sugawara** **Kōshi**

i know he’s a lot to handle, but he’s actually pretty sweet 

**Sugawara** **Kōshi**

he’s a good guy. just a lot of bravado 

**Shimizu Kiyoko**

Well I’m happy for you. He is sort of over the top but you guys looked good together :) 

**Sugawara** **Kōshi**

thx kiyoko 💖 

**Azumane Asahi**

I agree!!!! 

**Sugawara** **Kōshi**

:) 

**Azumane Asahi**

Hey… Do you think he’d teach me his jump serve??? 😳

 **Sugawara** **Kōshi**

you might have to work up to that one buddy 

Suga can’t decide if he should take Daichi’s passive aggression as him just not liking Oikawa very much (distinct possibility) or him being jealous (Oikawa insists when Suga calls him later that he’s ‘97% sure it’s that one’). 

_God this is already complicated_ , Suga thinks, lying in bed, exhausted. _Maybe it really is a bad idea_. 

But then he thinks about how Daichi had looked, how this reaction means at least more than _nothing_ at all. How maybe, just maybe, this will bring Daichi back into his orbit. He thinks about how Oikawa’s stupid acting and encouragement and how he is _way_ nicer and _way_ more helpful than Suga assumed he would be. 

_Maybe it’s not such a bad plan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry there's a lot happening here i feel like but gotta set it all up
> 
> also apologies if formatting is a little silly, copying from word


	3. 3

Ennoshita finds Suga during lunch break the next day, the lone second year wandering around the third year hall until he locates Suga and Asahi in a nearly empty classroom. He gives them both a nod of greeting as he enters the room. 

“So, Suga,” he says, sitting down across from them and stealing a chip from Suga. “Not to pry or anything, but, uh, Oikawa?” 

Suga rolls his eyes in mock exasperation, slapping Ennoshita’s hand away lightly when he tries to steal a handful of chips. “What? It’s not _that_ weird.” And even though he’s not _really_ dating Oikawa, just fake dating (which _is_ weird), Suga can’t help thinking that even if it was real it wouldn’t be as ridiculous a concept as Daichi and now Ennoshita seem to think it would be. 

Ennoshita stares at him, deadpan. “Look, I’m not saying it’s bad or anything. But to say it’s not _weird_ is another thing.” 

Suga looks to Asahi for help, because he’d actually seemed quite supportive of Oikawa, but Asahi just shrugs. Suga sighs and leans back in his chair. “I guess it’s maybe a little strange,” he admits, crossing his arms. “He was our rival, and he was really competitive with us. Maybe he still is. And I guess he’s a little…” Suga trails off, not sure exactly how to concisely describe what it is that makes Oikawa so off-putting. 

“Dramatic? Bratty? Insane?” Ennoshita supplies helpfully, and Suga shoots him a playful scowl. 

“Well, I was going to say eccentric, but I guess some of those might be a little correct,” Suga responds, laughing just a little at Ennoshita’s concern. “But trust me, it’s really okay. I can handle Oikawa, he’s a pretty good guy.” 

And Suga isn’t lying when he says that, not trying to put on a show to convince his teammates this relationship is real. It’s just the truth. 

~

It’s a few weeks later, early December, a Monday, when Oikawa shows up at Karasuno again. He’s still in his school uniform, which certainly earned him some strange looks as he wandered around Karasuno’s campus, trying to remember how he had gotten to this gym the last time. He’s trying to strike the perfect balance of running into the people he wants to see (Mr. Refreshing, Captain-kun, and maybe Mr. Goatee because he seems just a little interesting) and the people he distinctly does _not_ want to see (Tobio, Shrimpy, and the Karasuno coach, because he’d rather not have to play a respectful high school student today, no sir). He’s crouched outside the Karasuno gym, looking through the windows. He notes a definite lack of the starting first years (the Freak Duo and Four Eyes) and Coach Blondie, so he figures he’s good to head in. 

Just then, he hears footsteps behind him. “Oikawa?” 

Oikawa curses himself for not acting more quickly and slowly turns around and stands up. “Ah, hello, Coach…” What was Blondie’s actual name? U something. _Uchiha?_ No, that was from Naruto. _Ukita?_ That sounds closer. Come on, he’d had a whole conversation with this guy! “Ukai,” he finishes after a hitch, smiling too big. 

Ukai is giving him a look that is somehow one part amused and one part unimpressed. He’s with two other guys around his age, whom Oikawa quickly dubs Mr. Middle Part and Blondie #2. Mr. Middle Part and Blondie #2 are looking at him with matching shocked looks. Does he know them from somewhere? “You’re here even earlier this time. Planning to distract Sugawara for an entire practice?” Ukai asks, smirking just a little.

Oikawa gives Ukai his best impression of a sheepish look. “Sorry about that. I was just taking advantage of a free day. I can leave!” He doesn’t really think Ukai will make him leave, if he’s nice enough about it. 

Ukai tilts his head at him, and Oikawa can recognize a scheming look when he sees one. “How’s your knee?” Blondie asks, furrowing his brows. 

God, he’s so tired of people asking. “Perfect! All better now. It was just a little sprain,” he explains brightly. 

“Good enough to play a game?” 

Oikawa can’t help the way his eyes widen with surprise the second he understands what Ukai is asking. Well, he guesses he walked into that one. 

Suga is chatting with Yamaguchi when Coach Ukai comes into the gym, and the whole team immediately turns and heads toward him, not a beat late; he’s not quite as Spartan as his grandfather, but Coach Ukai the younger still commands the attention of a room, especially when that room is full of volleyball idiots. 

When Suga moves towards the entrance of the gym where Ukai is, he notices Shimada, Takinoue, and… _Oikawa_ behind him. In what he can only assume is the Aoba Johsai school uniform. How the _hell_ does he look so good in everything? Oikawa gives Suga a tiny wave as Coach Ukai starts talking. 

“Alright guys, I know we’ve had sort of awkward numbers for practice games since Kageyama, Hinata, and Tsukishima left for training camp, so I brought in some reinforcements today,” he explains, gesturing to the guests. Suga arches an eyebrow at Oikawa, who shrugs in response. Suga wonders how Ukai convinced Oikawa to go along with this, and something about that thought makes him respect Ukai even more. 

“Team B will have to use a wing spiker as a middle blocker, but I’ll give them the libero to make up for it,” Ukai continues. “Ahem. Team A: Sugawara, Yamaguchi, Narita, Sawamura, Kinoshita, Tanaka. Team B: Oikawa, Shimada, Takinoue, Ennoshita, Azumane, Nishinoya. Get stretched and we’ll start up.” 

There’s general confusion about Oikawa’s presence, Suga can tell, but no one says anything, at least not to him. Oikawa idles up to Suga as he starts stretching and squats next to him, smiling. “Hey. Not sure how Coach Blondie talked me into this, but I guess it will be more productive than if he had kicked me out,” he admits, running a hand through his hair. “Can I borrow some training clothes?” 

Suga blinks at him, cocking his head to the side. “I don’t think they’ll fit you,” he says, biting back a laugh, because Oikawa has a good ten centimeters on him and is probably substantially more muscular, so he’ll definitely look pretty silly wearing Suga’s clothes. “But, sure, let me just grab my bag.”

Oikawa smirks, cocky, as he hops up and holds out a hand to help Suga up. “Excellent. I look _incredible_ in tight clothes.” 

Suga rolls his eyes as he heads over to the side of the gym to root around in his bag and eventually throw a shirt and pair of shorts at Oikawa. “Do you need shoes? I definitely can’t help you there.” 

Oikawa waves him off. “No, no, I bring training shoes everywhere—” _why?_ “but thanks! I’ll be right back!” 

Suga points Oikawa in the direction of where he can go change and walks over to Ennoshita to resume his stretching. 

Suga is only human. He has involuntary reactions to things all the time. He gets hungry when he smells good ramen even when he’s already eaten dinner. He gets a chill when he sees it’s snowing outside even if he’s cozied up in his bed. And he gets, well, _attracted_ to handsome dudes who are barely wearing any clothing. What can he say!

So he tells himself his mouth getting all dry is involuntary when Oikawa saunters over to him and Ennoshita and plops down to stretch with them. “Hello Suga-chan, Mr. Future Captain,” he greets brightly. Suga blinks at him, actually unsure if he’s capable of responding coherently. The shorts barely go down to Oikawa’s fingertips, and the shirt is almost a crop top on him, and the undersized clothes really emphasize that Oikawa is _built_ , there’s lean muscle practically everywhere you look at this guy. Has he gained _more_ muscle since Suga watched him practice at Seijoh? Good lord. 

Suga blinks again, and he registers that Oikawa is doing his stupid haughty smirk. Suga looks around the gym to try to find something else to focus on but finds his eyes still drawn to Oikawa. He’s wearing a compression sleeve instead of the brace on his knee again, Suga notes. Maybe he’s ready to talk. “Ah, um—” 

“Hi, Oikawa-san,” Ennoshita cuts in smoothly, seeming unfazed. “I’m excited to play with you. My name is actually Ennoshita.” 

Oikawa hums, stretching to reach his toes, and says, like it’s nothing, “That’s a nice name, Mr. Future Captain. I watched the Wakunan match you were substituted into. You have potential. I don’t think Tobio-chan made very good use of you, but I won’t make the same mistake.” 

Ennoshita blinks, opens his mouth, and then closes it, unsure of how to respond. Suga can’t blame him. 

They get in position to start the match after a few more minutes of stretching, and Suga is significantly less distracted once Oikawa puts on a practice jersey, but he finds himself experiencing a whole brand of nervousness standing across the net from him. He knows it’s a practice match, no real stakes, and that Oikawa isn’t even with his team, so he probably won’t do as well. But it’s still unnerving to be playing against someone who he _knows_ is so talented and who will _definitely_ be brutally scrutinizing his every play. 

The first half of the set is a little awkward for the opposing team. It’s certainly a new combination, but they compensate for it smoothly with Nishinoya’s consistent receives, Oikawa’s ability to quickly adjust to the spikers, especially Asahi, and Shimada’s jump floaters which, despite Daichi’s best efforts, they lose 3 points to the first time he’s up. 

Suga had forgotten how playing against Oikawa was a combination of unbelievable stress and a lot of fun. He admits, it’s incredible to watch him; his tosses aren’t as precise as Kageyama’s to be sure, but they’re certainly accurate enough and the spikers look genuinely thrilled when they nail them. He’s not doing jump serves; Suga notices him rubbing his knee right before he’s up to serve for the first time and then seemingly decides it’s not worth it. He serves normally instead, but targets them in places that are hard to pick up. 

But Team A is doing well too; Suga feels like he’s really in it, Tanaka is as unstoppable as ever, the guys who aren’t starters are absolutely nailing the combinations they’ve been practicing with Suga, and Daichi’s solid receives neatly (thought incompletely) cover up the Nishinoya sized hole in their defense. For all of the other team’s efforts to play smoothly together, half of them don’t even know each other, and Suga finds himself facing a 23-20 lead at the end of the first set. 

He lets himself feel good about it until he realizes it’s Oikawa’s turn to serve. They haven’t been too intense, but they still scatter their defenses. Suga claps encouragingly to get the team to focus on him. “We’ll cut him off at—” Oikawa is stomping with his right leg, like he’s testing it, and he spins the ball when it’s thrown to him, and he has this _look_ … “Oh no,” Suga says, interrupting himself. “Move back guys,” he says, gesturing to the back row. They shoot confused looks to each other, but move back a couple steps. Maybe it will be enough. 

Suga can tell by the toss it’s one of his killer serves, and he watches helplessly as Oikawa spikes a serve right into the corner Yamaguchi is standing in, and the first year can’t even react as the ball flies right past his head and slams into the corner like it was pulled there by some great magnetic force. 

Suga doesn’t need to look around the gym to know everyone is making the same shocked face they made the first time they saw Oikawa serve (except Nishinoya, who looks kind of _thrilled,_ the weirdo). It’s not a fundamentally different serve from the ones he’d done in previous games, but he clearly wasn’t sacrificing accuracy for power anymore. He was wielding both like it was his _job._ Scary. 

“Ah.” Suga hears Oikawa sigh, and he rips his gaze from the corner where the ball had slammed to look at him as he spins the ball again. “That didn’t feel quite right.”

Wait, _what?_

Oikawa perfectly executes another, just a little more powerful than the first, and then a third, which Yamaguchi manages to touch, which spins the ball in a nasty direction up into the ceiling. 

They’re tied up. 

The fourth is a jump floater, perfectly timed after the receivers had moved back more to try to combat the serve. Daichi makes a valiant effort to dive for it, but it curves just as he’s about to touch it. 

“What the hell?” Suga can’t help but curse as he watches Oikawa take four consecutive points, helpless from the front row. 

Oikawa’s expression when he spins the ball to prepare for his fifth serve sort of scares Suga. It’s mostly concentration, but from across the net Suga can catch the rage swimming there, notices the way it makes his mouth twitch into a competitive smirk. He wonders if Oikawa is always this intense during practice matches or if it’s just because he’s playing Karasuno. Either way, it’s terrifying. 

He aims the last one at Daichi. It’s ridiculously powerful, and Suga wonders if he aims it there on purpose to see if their best receiver can pick it up. 

He can’t. Daichi’s form is perfect but the ball ricochets off to the side anyway. Yamaguchi runs after it, but it’s hopeless and Team B wins the first set after five consecutive service aces. 

In between sets Suga watches Oikawa from across the court. He’s sitting on the bench, rubbing his knee with one hand and looks like he’s having a lively conversation with Asahi, Takinoue, and Shimada, waving his free hand around erratically. 

“Did you do something to piss him off?” 

Suga turns and sees Daichi, who is smiling in a way that looks very strained for some reason. 

“Ah, I think he’s just competitive,” Suga says, smiling brightly. “And he’s really been practicing that serve.” 

Daichi chuckles and wipes some sweat from his forehead. “Yeah, it’s always been impressive, but…” he trails off and laughs, and Suga finds himself captivated, not for the first time, by the way Daichi’s eyes crinkle when he smiles and how he puts his whole chest into laughing even when Suga can tell the laugh is more from frustration than amusement. 

The second set is close, but Oikawa seems to really be in his groove. He really manages to bring the spikers up to a high level, and Team B takes the second set 28-26 as a result.

Ukai lets them take a brief break, which he promises will be followed by receiving drills. Suga is standing around talking to Daichi about a test they’d taken that morning when he feels a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He turns to see Oikawa, who is looking past him and staring at Daichi. “Hi, Captain-kun. Nice game,” he says, then turns his gaze to Suga. “Ah, Suga-chan, I’m going to go change, thanks for letting me borrow your clothes.” 

Suga may not be as natural an actor as Oikawa, but he’s finding it surprisingly easy to rise to the challenge today. Plus, he needs to test something out. He lets a pout tug at his lips and tilts his head, asking, “You’re not leaving, are you Tōru? I thought we were getting dinner.”

“Ah, uh, no,” Oikawa stutters, obviously thrown off balance. His cheeks are dusted red, and Suga wonders again how cracking his facade is as easy as calling him by his name. He recovers pretty quickly, though, and continues, “No, I’ll be back. Don’t miss me too much!” Suga rolls his eyes. 

Oikawa is giving him this strange look that Suga can’t quite figure out, maybe a little competitive and a lot _something else_ that’s totally unreadable. Oikawa tugs on Suga’s shoulder, which he hasn’t let go of since he walked up. Suga takes an obliging step toward him and Oikawa leans down and kisses Suga on the cheek. He’s pulling away, waving, and skipping off just as quickly as it happens, but Suga knows that no matter how quick or staged it was that it still caused him to blush. Hard. 

_Shit. Check mate, Oikawa_ , he thinks, turning back to Daichi with an apologetic smile. He’s met with a brick wall: Daichi is giving him a look as unreadable as they come. 

Huh. Weird. 

Suga is on a roll for the rest of practice. They’re doing simple drills, so it’s not like he’s a shining star or anything, but he feels like he’s in his element anyway. He steals some looks at Oikawa, who always returns them with a small smile and wave. He’s sitting against the wall close to the entrance of the gym, reading from a textbook, back in his Seijoh uniform, and Suga has to wonder why Ukai is letting him stay when he’s not even watching them practice. Suga also has to wonder why Oikawa is willing to waste practically his entire day on this charade. He glances at Daichi a few times, too, and his expression is still indecipherable to Suga. 

After practice, Oikawa leans against the wall, humming, waiting next to Suga as he packs up his bag. 

“Ah, Captain-kun,” Suga hears Oikawa say, and he looks up to see that Daichi has approached them, wearing a tight smile. Oikawa has his calculating eyes fully engaged, and he’s not even trying to hide the predatory smirk that’s forming. Suga sighs internally, mildly concerned that something bad might be about to happen. 

“Oikawa,” Daichi greets, his voice even and friendly (but maybe a little forced). “Good game, earlier. It was fun. I think it helped my guys, too.”

He extends a hand to shake, and Oikawa takes it. Suga can tell Oikawa is gripping just a little too hard. So petty. 

“Thanks, Sawamura. Sorry for crashing your practice again!” Oikawa says, brightly, his smile too wide. “So, I hear you have a girlfriend?” 

Suga blinks in surprise, standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder. He, almost unconsciously, places a hand on Oikawa’s lower back and looks up at him, trying to discern just his expression where the hell he’s going with this. 

Daichi nods, also looking sort of surprised. “Ah, yeah. Why do you ask?”

Oikawa’s smile stretches even wider. “We should do a double date sometime, Captain-kun! Wouldn’t that be fun?” he asks excitedly, glancing over at Suga with bright eyes, and Suga nods at him slowly. 

Daichi blinks, and for a second Suga thinks he’s going to refuse. “Yeah, that would be fun,” he agrees evenly. “In fact, how’s Sunday afternoon? Michimiya and I are grabbing coffee anyway, you two should come.”

“Works for me,” Suga says, smiling. He’s not exactly sure how he feels about this. On the one hand, Oikawa has had good insights after watching Daichi so far, and Suga is starting to think this stupid plan of Oikawa’s might work. On the other hand, he’s certain it’s going to be painful being with Daichi and Michimiya, seeing them together, something he’s desperately avoided before this. 

“Me too! How wonderful!” Oikawa exclaims. “It’s a date then! See you Sunday, Captain-kun.” 

~

**Oikawa Tōru**

i don’t think captain-kun likes me very much (╥﹏╥)

**Sugawara Kōshi**

it’s kind of weird. I’ve never really seen him not like anyone before.

**Oikawa Tōru**

trust me, this is good! my charms are irresistible, so this can only mean he’s jealous (っ＾▿＾) see u sunday mr. refreshing! i’ll pick u up at noon :)

~

Oikawa is standing in front of his closet, already dressed in tight khakis and a light blue button up, and is flipping through his _extensive_ collection of shawl collar sweaters, trying to decide on the right color. 

Red? _No, the color combination would be a little wonky._

Navy? _Classic, but maybe too safe._

Yellow? _No, what? Absolutely not. Disgusting. Why is this even—_

“Hey.” 

Oikawa looks over, still clutching the yellow sweater, which he is _definitely, without a doubt_ considering burning. Iwaizumi is standing in the doorway to his room, leaning against the frame, arms crossed. 

“Hi, Iwa,” he greets, smiling softly at his friend, a smile which does not get returned. Duly noted.

“Your parents aren’t back yet,” he says, a statement of fact, but Oikawa can hear the question swimming under the words.

“No, they decided to extend their trip by an extra week,” he explains, turning the sweater over in his hands. Why did he ever buy this?

“What are you doing? Are you going somewhere?” Iwaizumi questions, walking across the room to stand next to him. 

Oikawa hums, throwing the yellow sweater toward the back of his closet. “Trying to pick a sweater color. I’m going on a date.” 

“Oh,” Iwa says in response, if you could call it that. 

“Well, a fake date,” Oikawa hastily corrects, wringing his hands. “I don’t do real dates, obviously.” 

“Yeah.” 

Oikawa sighs, and dramatically collapses onto the floor, falling onto his back. “You’re being all grumpy, Iwa-chan.” He stares up at his dull, dull ceiling. He thinks again about asking Iwa to put stars up there.

It’s silent for a minute, other than some light rustling, and Oikawa doesn’t bother to check what’s happening. Eventually Iwaizumi throws something onto his chest, and Oikawa lifts whatever it is up just a tad so he can look. It’s a forest green sweater. 

_Green! Of course! Iwa is so smart._

Oikawa sits up and arches his eyebrows at Iwa, who stares back blankly. 

“You look good in that color. And it matches your nice coat,” Iwaizumi says after a few moments of them staring at each other. 

“Aww, Iwa—”

“Shut up,” Iwaizumi says gruffly, going to sit at Oikawa’s desk and pointedly looking away from him. “So, seriously. What’s with this fake dating thing?” 

Oikawa stands up and pulls on the sweater, running his hands through his hair to make sure it’s perfect. “Glasses or no glasses?” he asks, avoiding the question, wringing his hands again. 

“Glasses,” Iwaizumi says, pulling out his phone, still avoiding looking at him. 

Oikawa hums and picks up his glasses from the desk, carefully putting them on. “It’s kind of fun,” he starts vaguely. “You know how much I like to put on a good show. And I’m kind of bored, lately.” 

Iwaizumi grunts, and Oikawa has had nearly his whole life to learn how to decipher Iwaizumi. He definitely doesn’t believe that answer. 

So rude! It’s totally true!

“Well, I gotta run,” Oikawa says apologetically, heading toward the door. “You can stay here if you want. I shouldn’t be too long.” He stares for what feels like an hour but is probably less than a minute. “Hey, Iwa-chan.” 

Iwaizumi looks over at him, arching an eyebrow. 

“D’you, um, think we could put some glow in the dark stars on my ceiling later?” Oikawa asks, raising his eyes to the oh so boring white ceiling. 

Iwaizumi snorts, and asks, “What are you, eight years old? Still afraid of the dark?” 

“Mean, Iwa-chan! I guess I’ll have to do it myself!” he exclaims, pouting and turning to storm out of the room dramatically. 

He hears Iwa mutter “like you do anything yourself” as he leaves. So rude.

~

**Oikawa Tōru**

i’m here mr. refreshing!!! don’t keep me waiting!!!

**Oikawa Tōru**

SUGA-CHAN!!!! IT’S COLD OUT U MEANIE ಥ_ಥ

**Sugawara Kōshi**

sorry sorry! i’m coming! i just had to grab my coat!

Suga rolls his eyes, smiling just a little, when he exits his house and sees Oikawa leaning against his car, arms crossed. His cheeks are flushed from the cold, hands shoved in the pockets of his coat. 

“You could’ve just waited in your car, you know,” Suga says, amused, as he approaches Oikawa. 

“Ah, that would’ve been rude! And it’s not _really_ that cold,” Oikawa responds, stepping away from his car to meet Suga and offering him a bright smile. “But you look chilly already,” he notes, reaching out to tug on the faux fur hood of Suga’s winter coat. “I can drive us, if you want.” 

“No, no, you already drove all the way out here. And it’s a short walk,” Suga explains, waving him off. “Let’s go.” 

They walk in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. They’re close, arms brushing lightly ever so often, because Oikawa doesn’t seem to mind and Suga can’t help but be pulled to him because even through layers the taller boy radiates warmth and Suga is _not_ very good with the cold. 

“So,” Suga begins, giving Oikawa a very serious look which he returns with curiosity. 

“Hmmm?” Oikawa hums, arching his eyebrows. He’s clearly expecting an earnest question. And it is _sort of_ earnest in that Suga genuinely wants to know. 

“How many sweaters do you own?” he asks, cocking his head to one side. “Do you have a sweater fetish or something?” 

Oikawa scowls and smacks Suga lightly on the arm. “Rude! They’re an excellent fashion choice for almost _every_ occasion!” 

They bicker mindlessly for the rest of the walk, Oikawa trying (and failing) to explain the importance of matching the right color of sweater to the right situation and Suga laughing uncontrollably at the amount of overthinking that went into this inane philosophy. 

Suga is hit with a blast of warm air and the smell of fresh coffee when they enter the cafe, and he’s grateful to be shielded from the chill. He’s never been to this particular shop, but it’s nice, not too busy and just emanating a sort of cozy feeling. Oikawa closes a hand around his wrist and pulls him toward the counter. 

“Hi,” Oikawa says sweetly to the girl taking orders, who blushes just a little bit and smiles timidly. 

“What can I get for you?” she asks, seeming unable to rip her gaze from Oikawa, who is leaning over the counter and smiling in the way that he smiles at his fangirls. 

“Ah, can I get a white chocolate mocha with four shots of espresso? And whatever he wants,” Oikawa responds brightly, gesturing to Suga. 

Before he can even finish saying “just a black coffee,” Oikawa is sliding his credit card across the counter. Suga pouts and turns to Oikawa once he finishes ordering. “No fair! I owe you one, remember?” 

Oikawa laughs, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry about it, Suga-chan. It’s no biggie. Plus, I stole this card from my dad anyway.” 

“Wait, what?” 

Oikawa smirks and whistles innocently as he takes the drinks from the barista and hands Suga his. 

Suga scans the cafe for Daichi and Michimiya and locates them sitting in a corner booth. He tugs Oikawa’s wrist with his free hand and starts to head towards the booth. “So, that drink.” 

“Hmmmm?”

“Isn’t that a lot of sugar? Or caffeine? Or both? Aren’t you going to have a heart attack or something?” 

Oikawa rolls his eyes playfully. “Aw, Mr. Refreshing is so worried! So sweet!” They reach the booth and Oikawa slides in across from Michimiya and pats the spot next to him, so Suga takes a seat across from Daichi and offers the couple a bright smile. 

“Hey Daichi, Michimiya,” Suga says. “Thanks for letting us join you.”

“Hey,” Daichi responds, an easy smile tugging his lips up as he greets them (well, he’s really only looking at Suga). “No problem,” he continues, and then glances at Oikawa. “Hey, Oikawa.” 

“Captain-kun! So nice to see you again,” he exclaims, and then slides his gaze over to Michimiya, arching one eyebrow up and regarding her with a calculating look. He takes a pointed sip of his drink, not moving his gaze from her. 

Suga sighs internally. He’d made Oikawa promise not to be too intense when they’d talked “strategy” the day before, but clearly it wasn’t enough. He should’ve made him sign an actual contract. 

Michimiya blinks, a light blush dusting her cheeks, and Suga can tell Oikawa has already thrown her off kilter just with a look, maybe just with his presence. “I’m Michimiya Yui,” she introduces hastily. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

Oikawa hums, drumming his fingers on the table. “Ah, Yui,” he repeats, punctuating her name like he’s trying to get comfortable saying it. “That’s a pretty name. I’m Oikawa Tōru—”

“I know who you are!” Michimiya blurts out, and then has an expression of visible panic, and Oikawa arches an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m sorry, I mean… I watched your game against Karasuno during the Interhigh.” 

“Oh?” Oikawa’s eyes flash, and his smirk splits bigger, and Suga feels a sense of impending doom, one he decides he needs to immediately address, so he covertly kicks Oikawa in the shin under the table and gives him a slight warning glare. 

Oikawa offers him a sheepish look and slides his gaze back to Michimiya, who looks so anxious that she might be sweating. “So, Michimiya” Oikawa begins, sounding more pleasant. Suga smiles. “Do you play volleyball too? Is that how you two met?” 

“Oh, um, yes. I left the team after the Interhigh, though,” she explains, looking a little less nervous by the second. “We actually went to middle school together, too.” 

“Ahh,” Oikawa breathes, his voice sickly sweet when he continues. “How quaint. Childhood sweethearts, then.” 

Daichi chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that.” His expression was outwardly agreeable, but the more Suga looked past it the more he felt like he was hitting an impassable obstacle. There was a kind of competitive, suspicious glint to his eyes, one that was not obvious but that Suga could read after years of closely watching Daichi. “Sort of like you and Iwaizumi, huh?” 

They're pretty close in this booth, because it’s not very big and because Suga is still a little chilly so he’s been inching closer to Oikawa, so he can feel the way the other boy stiffens next to him.

“Well, the childhood part, I mean,” Daichi quickly corrects, laughing. Something about it unsettles Suga. It’s like the laugh doesn’t really reach his eyes. Oikawa is drumming his fingers against the table faster now, and Suga reaches out and takes his hand, partially because the tapping is sort of annoying and partially because Oikawa’s too-wide smile is twitching at the edges. Oikawa flexes his fingers around Suga’s for a second like he’s trying to get used to the feeling, then squeezes, tight. Suga thinks he can see some of the tension leave his shoulders. 

_Weird._

“So, how did you two end up together?” Michimiya asks brightly, and Suga feels a pang of guilt. The past few weeks he’s felt like villainizing Michimiya for closing off a road he so desperately wanted to traverse, but he remembers just how sweet she is, how determined to turn any situation good she is. She’s sort of like Daichi, that way. 

Shit, maybe this is a really bad idea. 

Wait, shit. He can think about that later. He needs to answer now. Simple. He and Oikawa had prepared for this question. _Keep it close to reality. The more it maps onto the truth the more believable it’s going to sound and the easier it’s going to be to keep track of it._ Suga had been sort of afraid of Oikawa’s extensive lying tips, but he’s grateful for them now.

“Ah, well. It was actually sort of a coincidence. We ran into each other at a convenience store a little over a month ago, and I had forgotten my wallet and he covered for me—”

“I’m so chivalrous,” Oikawa mumbles as he lifts his drink to his lips. 

“—so I made him get coffee with me so I could, y’know, pay him back, and…” 

“And he fell for my overwhelming charm!” Oikawa interrupts excitedly. “It was inevitable. Everyone succumbs sooner or later.” 

Oikawa’s expression is perky, cheerful, but he’s still gripping Suga’s hand just as tightly. He thinks he might be losing circulation. 

“Yeah, something like that,” Suga says, rolling his eyes performatively. 

Suga can tell Michimiya is indeed charmed, both by Oikawa and by his and Suga’s story. The look of trepidation she had been wearing at the beginning of their conversation has been replaced by one of captivation, watching the two of them. 

And Suga must admit, it _does_ come surprisingly easily to him, the act with Oikawa. The bantering, the shoulder bumping, even the hand holding. 

Suga’s never been particularly touchy, and Oikawa is definitely the kind of guy who will creep up on your personal space, use casual touches to keep you interested, use his physical presence as a tool. And that sort of guy would usually make Suga nervous; he prefers to stay in control of both his conversations and surroundings, but Oikawa makes that pretty damn difficult with all of his unpredictability. But Suga finds that he distinctly _does not mind at all._

Weird.

The rest of the “date” goes relatively well. Michimiya and Oikawa actually sort of hit it off; Michimiya is always actively interested in her conversations, and Oikawa is especially captivating, telling stories and waving his hands around (even if one stays attached to Suga’s for the whole time). 

Suga is happy to play the role of the doting boyfriend, laughing at Oikawa and cutting in occasionally. Suga considers himself to be a good conversationalist, and maybe even a good actor, but not a particularly wonderful liar, especially not under stress, so having Oikawa there to take center stage is awfully reassuring. 

Suga instead spends most of his time trying to subtly watch Daichi, who is relatively quiet. He spends most of the time propping his head up, resting his chin on his hand, and watching Michimiya with a light smile on his face. There’s not a lot to read, but Suga does conclude one thing for sure: Daichi is _definitely_ suspicious of Oikawa. 

After about an hour, Daichi and Michimiya excuse themselves because they have to take Michimiya’s little sister to a movie. 

“Thanks again for inviting us. I think we’re going to stick around for a little bit,” Oikawa says when Daichi and Michimiya get up to leave. He’s not really looking at them, though. He instead pops the top off of his coffee cup with intense concentration, scowling as he peers inside. 

“I’ll walk out with you guys,” Suga announces, standing up and glancing over at Oikawa. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I miss you already,” he mumbles, not paying attention. 

Suga rolls his eyes and walks towards the exit with Daichi and Michimiya. They linger for a moment. 

“Well, seriously, thanks for inviting us. It was fun,” Suga says, smiling wide. “Sorry if Oikawa was, uh, a little intense?” It’s meant to come out as a statement, but it lilts up into a question, because other than perhaps a rough beginning Oikawa had been quite pleasant. 

“Not at all!” Michimiya responds. “We should do this again sometime!” 

Daichi nods, giving Suga a tight smile. “Yeah. See you tomorrow, Suga,” he says, overly polite. 

As they leave, Suga turns towards the corner booth where Oikawa is still scowling into his cup. Suga rolls his eyes, a motion he finds himself repeating often while in Oikawa’s presence. He goes to the counter and orders another white chocolate mocha, sans the quadruple shot of espresso because Suga decidedly does _not_ think Oikawa needs that much more energy. He heads back to the booth once it’s ready and slides in across from Oikawa, pushing the drink toward him. 

Oikawa’s eyebrows shoot up far past the frames of his glasses. “Oh, Mr. Refreshing! That’s so nice, you didn’t have to!” 

Suga chuckles, because despite Oikawa’s protest he almost immediately takes a sip. “What can I say, I’m a nice guy! Plus, you were getting very…” he trails off and mimics Oikawa’s dejected look. 

Oikawa smiles just a little bit behind the cup, genuine. He sets it down and almost immediately starts stacking mini cups of coffee creamer, like he can’t bear to be still even for a second. “Captain-kun does not like me,” he says matter-of-factly. 

Suga hums in agreement, watching Oikawa form a pyramid out of the creamer, mildly impressed by its stability. “Yeah. But I guess we knew that already.”

“No.” Oikawa’s hands still, just for a moment, as he raises his eyes up to Suga, expression serious. “I mean he _really_ doesn’t like me. He was trying to irritate me.” 

Suga can feel himself frown, confused. First of all, that wasn’t very much like Daichi. Sure, he could dual wield kindness and discipline like a master, but vindictiveness wasn’t ever something that appeared on that scale. Second, Oikawa seemed sure of what he was saying, but Suga didn’t feel like Daichi had said very much of anything at all to Oikawa, let alone something that would irritate him. Suga just hums absentmindedly. 

“He’s suspicious of me,” Oikawa continues, a whine in his voice. He finishes the pyramid and leans back in the booth, crossing one leg over the other and taking a long sip from his drink. 

“Well, I can’t say that’s exactly an unnatural reaction to you,” Suga muses, but he knows Oikawa is right. 

“Rude,” Oikawa mutters, narrowing his eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly reaches out and knocks down the tower of half and half. 

Suga’s eyes widen, and then pull into a frown. “Why did you do that! You did such a good job!”

“Well, Suga-chan, I guess I just like to watch the world burn.” 

~

Oikawa is the most unfortunate combination of exhausted and twitchy when he gets home. He can tell Iwa left, because his house is locked, and he definitely does _not_ drop his keys multiple times when he tries to unlock the door (stupid shaking hands, why would they betray him like this!) 

Maybe he should stop drinking coffee. 

He throws his coat off and goes into his room, not bothering to turn on the light. He’s developing a terrible headache. He flops down onto his bed, groaning and digging the heels of his palm into his eyes. 

“Ow,” he mumbles to himself. He forgot he was wearing his glasses. How unfortunate. He pulls them off and chucks them away, wincing inwardly when he hears them hit the wall. “Oopsies,” he says, giggling to the empty room. He opens his eyes, thinking maybe he’ll get his laptop, watch some volleyball clips, and fall asleep. 

He’s met with the sight of his ceiling. His… not so boring ceiling. Because it is now plastered with glow in the dark stars and a couple of spaced out planets. His mouth goes dry. 

He reaches in his pocket to get his phone, but thinks better of it. What is he even supposed to say? _Hey Iwa-chan, thanks for caving in to my stupid whim like you always do even though I ditched you today! So sweet!_

He stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes, feeling his throat close up in a way that makes him very afraid of crying. He rolls over and buries his face in his pillow. And screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls hit me with any thoughts/suggestions/criticisms you have! i love comments!
> 
> thank u for reading :)


End file.
